Getting It Done aka (unofficial) #NaNoWriMo 2016

I know I’ve been quieter than usual over the past few months. There’s been a lot going on… But to my shock I’ve realised that it’s November (how did that happen?) meaning the year is almost over. I’ve achieved a lot, but writing wise I am way behind where I wanted to be. So I decided I needed a kick up the arse. I need to make significant progress with the manuscript I’m working on. I want to write the 40,000 or so words that I’m missing before the end of 2016. I don’t mind editing it in the early part of 2017, but fundamentally I need to complete the first ‘dirty’ draft. I need to Get It Done. Life is too short for procrastination – losing loved ones and friends of friends this year has shown me that.

So I’ve decided to take part in #NaNoWriMo, otherwise known as National Novel Writing Month. It’s a challenge – to write a 50,000 novel during November, with a website, tracker and network to match. Details are here http://nanowrimo.org/how-it-works if you’re interested.

Now, when I say taking part, I don’t mean officially. The reason being that you can only write a new novel via NaNoWriMo… Works in Progress don’t count. But I will be creating a spreadsheet to track my progress, which if you write the way you’re meant to, means hitting roughly 1667 words every day; I usually get up a bit earlier and write during lunch breaks if I need to. I’ll also be tracking other people’s progress and tweeting about mine. Working to a target and making a commitment to your writing for a month is a great motivator. I should know, because I did an unofficial #NaNoWriMo a few years ago and managed to finish the manuscript I’d been working on for the previous two years. That book later became my debut novel Crazy, Undercover, Love which was shortlisted for an RNA (Romantic Novelists Association) award 🙂

So, if you’re a writer and need motivation – that extra push to Just Do It as Nike would say, why not consider taking part in (official or unofficial) #NaNoWriMo ?

8 thoughts on “Getting It Done aka (unofficial) #NaNoWriMo 2016”

Great motivation! With my new crime novel, The Shame of Innocence, due out on 11th November, I’ve taken the perhaps stupid decision to rewrite its predecessor, The Price of Silence. Trying to get that done during November suddenly becomes a neat objective!! Thanks for the reminder!

Good luck, Nicky. I’m trying Nanowrimo for the second time. No idea if I’ll meet the 50k target but any encouragement that helps gets those words on the page must be a good thing. Off to try a word sprint!